One Month Left for Mississippi and Alabama Victims to Apply for SBA Disaster Assistance

The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding homeowners, renters, businesses and non-profit organizations that one month remains to submit disaster loan applications for damage caused by the January 10 severe storms and tornadoes in Mississippi and Alabama. The deadline to file an application for physical damage is March 17, 2008.

Affected residents and businesses in the following counties are eligible to apply: Attala, Carroll, Clay, Holmes, Humphreys, Leflore, Lowndes, Madison, Monroe, Noxubee, Oktibbeha and Yazoo in the State of Mississippi; and Lamar and Pickens in the State of Alabama.

Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to replace personal property such as furniture, appliances and clothing. Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Loans to businesses of all sizes and non-profit organizations are available up to $1.5 million to repair damage to real estate, machinery, equipment and inventory. Economic Injury Disaster Loans are also available to small businesses unable to pay bills or meet operating expenses because of the disaster.

Interest rates are as low as 2.937 percent for homeowners and renters and 4.000 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based upon each applicant's financial condition.

Additionally, disaster victims with insurance should not wait for a settlement before applying to the SBA. If a victim does not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, the SBA will consider making a loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay their SBA loan.

Program information is available by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. EST. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from http://www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX. 76155.

The application deadline for physical damage is March 17, 2008; the deadline for economic injury applications is October 16, 2008.

For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs, visit http://www.sba.gov.